My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 469 A warm winter or a cold winter, it all depends on fate! The one who makes the greatest contribution, I hereby bestow upon him the title of Duke!

All the ministers shuddered, and were greatly shocked.

Cao Cao's words are a bit frightening.

This emperor of the Great Wei was by nature suspicious.

Now, spurred on by Xun Yu's proclamation, and seeing that none of them offered any advice or strategies, they openly speculated that they intended to betray Wei and surrender to Han!

They even wanted to kidnap Cao Cao and go to Liu Bei to claim credit!
The ministers immediately tensed up.

They feared that Cao Cao might lose his temper and seize anyone he disliked on the spot, framing them for intending to surrender to the Han dynasty and taking their lives.

Even Cao Pi, the crown prince, couldn't help but feel guilty, fearing that his father's paranoia would flare up and he would turn against his own family.

"Sima Yi, tell me, how should I defend against the invasion of the Big-Eared Bandit?"

Cao Cao pointed his cane at Sima Yi and demanded an explanation.

Sima Yi swallowed hard, then quickly stepped forward and bowed.

"Your Majesty, although the current strength of our Great Wei is far weaker than that of the pseudo-Han, I believe that we can certainly defend our borders."

Cao Cao's anger subsided slightly, and a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes. He then put down his cane, signaling him to continue.

After regaining his composure, Sima Yi said in a loud voice:

"In fact, I have already analyzed this before. Liu Bei wants to attack Guanzhong, and there are only three routes: Tongguan, Wuguan, and Pubanguan."

"The Tongwu Pass is protected by towering mountains and steep ridges. Our army only needs to select one good general and deploy 10,000 to 20,000 troops on each side to withstand the strong attack of the pseudo-Han army, which is ten times larger."

“We are clear about this, and I believe that Liu Bei and his ministers are also very clear about it.”

"Then the main target of the Big Ear Bandits is only Puban Pass."

Taking a slight breath, Sima Yi's face showed confidence as he raised his hand and pointed north:
"Therefore, I have concluded that the rebel Da'er is currently making large-scale mobilization of grain and fodder towards Luoyang and Wancheng as a feint, making us mistakenly believe that he will focus his main attack on Tongguan and Wuguan, thus mobilizing our heavy troops to be deployed at the two passes."

"At that time, the big-eared thief will repeat his old tricks, using his main force to cross the Yellow River from the east and west of the river, take advantage of the situation to attack and capture my Puban Pass, and then invade my Guanzhong Plain from the north."

"Fortunately, His Majesty had the foresight to reinforce Puban Pass and build a ten-mile-long river defense fortification on the west bank, making full preparations."

"Therefore, my strategy for defending against the enemy is to stick to the original strategy. No matter how the Han army advances, we must garrison heavy troops along the Puban Pass line."

"In this way, we will have enough troops to attack the enemy when he is crossing the river, and drive the Han army down the Yellow River in one fell swoop."

"As long as the Han army cannot cross the Yellow River, my Puban Pass will be impregnable. If Puban Pass is impregnable, then Guanzhong can rest easy!"

Sima Yi presented his strategy for defending against the enemy in a lengthy and detailed manner.

After listening to Sima Yi's strategy, his colleagues on both sides secretly pondered and deduced it, and they all nodded slightly, their eyes beginning to rekindle a bit of confidence.

Cao Cao, leaning on his cane, descended the steps and stood before the map, gazing at it intently as he pondered Sima Yi's strategy.

His gloomy expression gradually softened.

Cao Cao began to realize that the current situation did not seem to have reached the point of no return or irreparable damage.

"You're right, the key lies in Puban Pass."

Cao Cao pointed his cane to a point on the map and sneered:
"That treacherous scoundrel has gone to great lengths to seize my Bingzhou. If we don't attack Guanzhong through Puban Pass, wouldn't Bingzhou have been taken in vain?"

"Just as Zhongda said, once the big-eared traitor raises the whole country's army to invade, I will immediately send my main force to Puban Pass to take command."

"This time, I will absolutely not allow that big-eared traitor to cross the Yellow River again!"

Sima Yi hurriedly praised Cao Cao's wisdom.

The ministers were all relieved and readily agreed.

The gloomy and uneasy mood in the court seemed to have been swept away at this moment.

Cao Cao glanced back at his ministers, secretly observing their expressions, seemingly trying to discern who was secretly in league with Liu Bei. His gaze landed on Jia Xu.

The Grand Commandant of Wei had a deep frown on his face, and his expression remained gloomy.

"Wenhe, do you have any objections to Zhongda's strategy of defending Puban?"

Cao Cao, leaning on his cane, sat back down on the dragon throne.

Jia Xu did not remain silent. He slowly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said:
"Your Majesty, I agree with Zhongda's strategy of defending Puban."

"However, the Yellow River is not like the Yangtze River. It may freeze over in winter. I am worried that Liu Bei will follow the old example of attacking Liyang and try to cross the river on ice again."

"If that's the case, my troops defending Puban Pass number at most fifty or sixty thousand. Once the Han army crosses the river, how can we possibly stop hundreds of thousands of enemy troops?"

Cao Cao shivered, and his expression suddenly changed.

The painful memories of the fall of Liyang and the death of Cao Ren flooded back to me in an instant.

Back then, he thought the Yellow River was an impregnable natural barrier and that Cao Ren could defend Liyang.

Who would have thought that Liu Bei, taking advantage of the freezing weather and the frozen Yellow River, easily crossed the river on the ice and surrounded Liyang completely.

Cao Cao's top general was trapped and died in Liyang City, ultimately losing his life and reputation, and his entire army was wiped out.

If Liu Bei could cross a river on ice back then, why can't he do it today?
It's important to know that winters in Guanzhong are even colder than in Yanzhou, and the ice on the Yellow River in Puban is even thicker than that in Liyang!

"Wenhe is absolutely right, absolutely right!"

Cao Cao nodded emphatically, his gaze quickly shifting to Sima Yi:

"Zhongda, how could you not have thought of such a fatal flaw as the Yellow River freezing over?"

A hint of panic flashed in Sima Yi's eyes, clearly indicating that he hadn't anticipated this oversight.

Sima Yi quickly regained his composure and comforted him with a smile:
"Your Majesty, how could I not have thought of such a crucial matter?"

"However, the past two winters have been mild, and the Yellow River has not frozen for two winters. Moreover, this summer has been scorching hot. I predict that this winter will also be a mild winter."

"Since it is a mild winter, the Yellow River will certainly not freeze. If the Yellow River does not freeze, how will the Han army cross the river on ice?"

Upon hearing Sima Yi's words, Cao Cao's expression immediately softened, and he turned to his attendants to ask if what Sima Yi said was true.

The final answer was that last year and the year before were indeed warm winters. Not only did the Yellow River in the Puban section not freeze, but even the Wuyuan and Shuofang areas further upstream did not freeze.

Cao Cao breathed a sigh of relief, stroked his fine beard, and nodded slightly.

"In recent years, there has been a lot of rain in the north, and the weather has indeed become increasingly hot. This summer is even hotter than in previous years."

"Based on this calculation, as Zhongda said, there is a very high probability that this winter will also be a mild winter."

"In that case, Wenhe, your worries are unfounded."

Jia Xu's concerns were thus dismissed.

Cao Cao's face had regained its confidence. He surveyed his ministers and said proudly:

"The strategy for defending against the enemy has been decided."

"My lords, the Mandate of Heaven still stands for our Great Wei; we have not yet reached a point of no return!"

"I urge you all to rouse your spirits, fight alongside me, and defend the Puban Pass to the death, blocking the Han army from advancing east of the Yellow River!"

"I assure you that if we can defeat the big-eared thief in this battle, there will be no limit to the rewards."

"The one who has made the greatest contribution shall be granted the title of Duke!"

(End of this chapter)